Catfight Redux
by c00kiefic
Summary: Jackie struggles to remain Zen in the midst of the aftermath of Catfight Club while trying to win Steven Hyde's affections. Whatever is a girl to do?
1. Catfight Club

**Catfight Redux.**

**Jackie struggles to remain Zen in the midst of the aftermath of Catfight Club. **

**This came out of the need to write something not based around season 8. That's it, plain and simple. **

* * *

Jackie stood in front of his door with her fist just inches away from it, ready to knock.

Except she still wasn't sure what she wanted to say. Thank you seemed like a safe bet, but she felt like she should say more.

'You can say a lot by saying very little.'

Maybe she should just stick with a simple thank you. Get in, get out, leave with her dignity intact.

The door opened up before she could even knock though.

"Jackie, I know you've been standing there for over five minutes now. What do you want?"

He was wearing nothing more than a wife beater and a pair of sweatpants. His sunglasses were off and his gaze seemed to be burning a hole though her skin.

"I just wanted to say thank you."

He leaned against the doorway. "You're welcome."

She knew he could tell she was nervous, and was enjoying her reaction. When did Steven suddenly become hot?

And when did he go from being Hyde to Steven?

"Was there something more you wanted to say?" He asked. He seemed to be completely focused on her.

"No." She said, rather abruptly. "I mean, no, just uh, thanks."

He nodded. "Well, that's good."

She knew that was her cue to leave. "So uh, I'll just, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Whatever." The door shut again and Jackie was left standing there wondering what had just happened.

As she walked home she replayed the day in her mind. He spent the day with her, teaching her to be Zen, to be cool. But she wasn't cool. Sure, she was fun, peppy and popular, but there was nothing 'cool' about her.

She had kicked Laurie's ass. Part of her felt proud of herself, but at the same time, she knew she had failed.

She needed to write about this in her diary.

"Jackie, you're finally home." Her mother's voice called to her from the kitchen.

"Hi mom!" Jackie ran up to hug her.

"Did you have a nice time with Margritte?"

"You fired Margritte, mom, remember?"

"I did?" Pam laughed. "That's right, it was so long ago that I practically forgot."

Jackie sighed. "Mom, it was last week, before you went on your trip. You haven't hired anyone yet."

Pam looked around. "Well then who cleaned while I and your dad were gone?"

"I did mom. I also made my own dinner." She was actually quite proud of herself for it.

"Oh, Jackie, you're getting so grown up. Tell me, are you still dating that Michael boy?"

Jackie shook her head. "No mom, we broke up." She paused, "He cheated on me."

Her mom gave a little laugh. "Oh, Jackie, boys do that."

Jackie never knew how to respond when her mother said things like that, so she moved on. "So, where's daddy?"

"He's still in Chicago." She took a drink of her wine. "You have school tomorrow, so go up stairs and get ready for bed."

"Okay mom." They gave each other a kiss on the cheek and Jackie went upstairs to her room where she brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas. She climbed onto her bed and dug her diary out from under the mattress.

"_Dear Diary, _

_Today Steven, I mean, Hyde, taught me how to be Zen. I still think he made the word up, but I guess it means cool. He's really fun to be around with, and he is nice and sweet. _

_For a poor boy of course."_

Jackie stopped writing and tapped her pen the diary. She took a look around her room. It was pink and filled with stuffed animals. Maybe Laurie was right and she was immature.

An hour later, Jackie could feel herself getting tired. She put her diary away, turned off her lamp and rolled onto her favorite pillow.

The next morning she found her mom asleep in her parent's bed room, sprawled out on the bed, still in her dress. Jackie quietly closed the door on her and went to find some breakfast.

It used to be that Michael would pick her up in her van and take her to school, but ever since their break up, Jackie would have to walk the two miles to school. She didn't mind that much, as she was in shape and it gave her time to day dream. Most of the time she thought about Michael, but lately the lead man in her fantasies was taking on a much different appearance.

She rarely ran into the gang at school due to them being in different gangs, but for some reason, today was different. As she walked down the hallway to her science class, she passed by Eric and Hyde who seemed to be in a deep conversation about something. Part of her was curious to know what they were talking about; she guessed though that it had something to do with Donna. She made a mental note to ask Donna what Eric did to piss her off again. Jackie decided against stopping though, party because she didn't want detention for being late to class, and also because she was afraid that they weren't talking about Donna at all, but about Michael.

She just wasn't in the mood to deal with him and his idiocy.

Jackie knew the moment that Eric spotted her, he gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement and she smiled and waved at him as she breezed past the two of them. She had no way of knowing for sure, but she could have sworn she felt someone's eyes watch her as she passed them.

"Jackie!" Jackie stopped and turned around at the familiar voice. She titled her head in a questioning manner at Eric's voice.

"Come here." He gestured towards her. She gave a glance to Hyde and he gave her a slight nod, signaling that he wanted her to come as well.

Jackie shrugged, decided that detention wouldn't be too bad, and that whatever Michael had done, she should probably know about it first. It was funny, but even though they were no longer dating, she was still in charge of fixing his messes. The popular crowd still considered them to be a 'couple' and whatever Michael did would ultimately effect Jackie's social standing.

"Hi, Eric, Hi… Hyde." He raised his eyebrow briefly at her pause.

"Jackie." He always said her name the same way. For some reason, it made her want to confess her deepest secrets to him.

"Hyde and I were just thinking about cutting class, want to come with us?"

"I shouldn't, I've got science."

"Skip it." Hyde told her. "You don't need science anyway. I can teach you everything you know about science."

Eric laughed. "What do you know about science?"

"I know there's a car that runs on water!" Hyde replied testily. Both Eric and Jackie rolled their eyes.

"So what do you say, Jackie?" Eric asked.

"Okay." She could miss one day of class. "But I have to be back for cheerleading practice. We have a game this Friday."

"Yeah, okay." Eric told her as the three started to walk down the hallway and through the doors that lead to the parking lot. They climbed into Eric's Vista Cruiser, all three of them in the front seat.

She was squished in between the two of them and she tried to ignore the fact that Hyde's jeans were touching her bare leg.

"Where are we going?" Jackie asked, breaking the silence.

"Hub?" Eric seemed to be asking Hyde.

Hyde shrugged. "Not hungry."

"Well, we can't go to the basement." Eric said.

"Water tower." Jackie blurted out.

Both Hyde and Eric looked over Jackie's head. "Sounds good." Eric replied.

"It still looks like a hand giving a finger." Hyde shook his head at the pot leaf they had painted on the tower.

"Michael's an idiot."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Here we go." He muttered.

"Well he is!" Jackie exclaimed. She gestured to the leaf. "He can't even paint a decent pot leaf!"

Hyde chuckled and Eric just shrugged and started to climb the tower's ladder.

They stayed up on the tower, talking until it was time for them to go. Well, mostly Eric talked, about Donna, and Hyde listened just enough to give him advice. Jackie, however, stayed uncharacteristically quiet. For whatever reason, she didn't feel like talking about her hair, or her clothes, or even cheerleading. Instead she found herself watching a Robin hop from branch to branch, in search of a new mate.

"You're taking me back to the school right?" Jackie asked as they climbed back into Eric's car.

"Yeah, I have to pick up Donna and Fez anyway." Eric told her, turning on the engine.

"JACKIE!" The shrill voice of her captain broke through Jackie's thoughts.

"What?" Jackie asked, annoyed.

"You're not focusing. We've got a game this Friday and if you can't concentrate, then I'm going to have to replace you."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "First of all, you can't replace me and we both know it, and secondly, I'm the best girl on this squad."

Tasha got into her face. "I'm head cheerleader."

"Only because your mother slept with the Principal."

Tasha reacted just like Jackie thought she would, stalking off in a huff. Jackie smiled to herself and resumed her routine. Tasha was right though, she wasn't concentrating. Her mind was still transfixed on Hyde and how her feelings were gradually starting to shift for him.

They remained on Hyde as she walked to the basement.

"Where is everyone?" She asked, looking around for their friends before settling on the couch.

"Eric and Donna are doing 'homework' over at her house and Kelso is helping Fez pick up chicks." Hyde told her.

"Oh." She looked around again. "So what are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I live here."

"I know that." She replied. "I meant, why are you here alone?"

His mouth titled up slightly. "I thought I would wait for you. You've been acting strange

lately."

"No I haven't." Jackie knew she was lying, and she knew Hyde knew that as well.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever."

She stared at him. "Hey, you're forgetting you taught me Zen, I know what that whatever means."

He smirked. "What does it mean?" He put his feet on the table and waited for her answer. His shirt rode up slightly so that Jackie could see the soft dusting of hair on his flat stomach. All coherent thought left her head.

"It's um…"

He laughed. "Amateur."

For some reason, this offended her. "I am not."

He chuckled again. "I knew you were going to say that, not only are you an amateur, but you're also predictable."

"I am not!" She replied, aghast at his statement.

He stood up to go get a Popsicle. "Eventually Kelso is going to either get tired of or get dumped by Laurie and is going to want you back. I bet you a whole day of you not speaking that you'll take him back."

Jackie shook her head. "I will not."

Hyde laughed at her. "Jackie, I noticed that you've been jumpy and distracted lately, it's obvious you're thinking about him."

"I'm not thinking about him." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

He raised his eyebrow. "Then who are you thinking about?"

She couldn't very well say 'you' so she tried to search her mind for someone to talk about. She didn't think fast enough however.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He smirked at her.

"I'm telling you, I don't care about Michael anymore." Jackie hadn't realized how true that was until she said it out loud.

"Wow, you move on fast."

She knew he was insulting her, trying to goad her into a reaction. She wasn't sure what his motives were, but she was going to be damned if she let him.

"Whatever."

He smiled. "Good, Grasshopper."

"That's cool."

Their conversation however, was stopped short by the arrival of Fez and  
Michael.

"Oh, hi Jackie." Michael looked around awkwardly. "I was just about to uh, go upstairs."

Jackie sighed. "Tell your new tramp that I said hi."

"I will!" Kelso said cheerfully as he ran up the stairs. Fez sat beside her. "So, Jackie, want to go to The Hub?"

"I though you were just at The Hub." Jackie asked, confused.

"Oh, we were, but we didn't eat." Fez grinned.

Whatever response Jackie had was cut short however by Hyde.

"Actually, I was just about to take Jackie home." Hyde told them both.

"But you don't have a car." Fez said confused. Jackie had to admit she was confused as well.

Hyde shrugged. "Uh, I was going to borrow Forman's car."

Fez appeared to be thinking about it. "Uh, okay. Gilligan is about to come on anyway."

Jackie and Hyde walked outside to see that Eric's car wasn't in the driveway.

"Damn." Hyde muttered.

Jackie smiled slightly. "It's okay, I can just walk home."

"I'll go with you." Hyde left no room for argument.

Jackie, tired of fighting, simply shrugged and allowed Hyde to follow her.

"You gotta let him go, Jackie."

For five minutes they hadn't talked. For five uncomfortable, yet somewhat blissful minutes, she was allowed just an inkling of peace.

"I have."

"Tell your tramp I said hi." He mimicked her.

"First of all, I don't sound like that, and second, shut up."

He laughed at her.

"Are your parents' home?" Hyde asked as Jackie opened the door.

"I doubt it."

The house was dark as she and Hyde entered it.

"I thought you had a maid."

Jackie put her jacket in the closet. "Mom fired her, we're in between maids."

"And where are your parents?"

Of all the things she didn't want to talk about, that was on the top of the list.

"Well, I'm home now… so uh, thanks."

"I'm not leaving." He told her, walking past her and into her kitchen. "Got any beer?"

"What?" Jackie asked, following behind him.

"Do you have any beer?" He asked again.

"In the back." She said, watching him dig into her refrigerator. He pulled out two beers and handed her one.

"Uh thanks, Steven."

She mentally cursed herself. All day she had carefully thought of him as Hyde and the one moment she slipped, it was in front of him.

He didn't react though, or if he did, she couldn't tell.

"So, want to go upstairs?" She asked, knowing she'd feel more secure in her bedroom.

Hyde shrugged. "Sure."

His back was to her as they entered her room; she couldn't help but stare at his back through his black tees shirt. He had nice muscles.

He had nice muscles. She was doomed.

"It's very…. Pink." He seemed to settle on the word.

"Yeah." Watched as he lay on her bed, his arms crossed behind his head. She stayed in the middle where it was safe.

"Come on Jackie, I don't bite."

"Yes you do."

He chuckled. "Well, I haven't had any complaints."

She realized then how comfortable she felt around Steven. She slid onto the bed beside him.

"So, what now?" She asked.

"We could make out."

"Okay." She covered her mouth at her slip.

She was about to say she didn't mean it, but he was flipping her over and covering her with his own body before she could even protest.

"I knew it." He sounded proud. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but he was kissing her instead.

He was kissing her. But before she had time to react, he was jumping up.

"What?" She asked, more than just a little hurt.

"I didn't mean to do that." He told her. He seemed to be panicking.

"Right." She said, sitting up but not looking at him.

"Look, uh, you and Kelso aren't done yet and uh, you need time."

She finally looked at him. "Time?"

"Yeah, to uh, work things out with Kelso."

She glared at him. "But I don't want to work things out with Kelso."

He sighed. "Yeah, but eventually you will." He shrugged and walked back and sat beside her where he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "When you're ready." He whispered next to her lips, causing shivers to run down her spine. . He stood up and walked to the door.

"Later."

"Bye." It was the only word she could think to say.

She watched as he walked out of her room, closing the door beside her.

She brought Fluffycakes to her chest. She was definitely doomed.

* * *

**I'm not marking this as complete because I might… repeat, might continue it in some form or another. This was simply something I needed to write though. It was supposed to be a regular smut fic, but Jackie's conscious took over and well, you just read the result. And please, please go over to the zenmaster boards at fanforum and vote for your top 10 zennie fics. **


	2. Moon Over Point Place

You all have no idea how long this has been sitting on my hard drive, waiting oh so patiently to be finished.

Edit: I wrote the above like three months ago. Whatever I did, I just couldn't finish it. I'm still wary about the ending, but it'll do.

This is so, so AU, but none of you mind right?

Reviews make my day.

* * *

MOON OVER POINT PLACE/RED SEES RED AND THE ONE BETWEEN THEM, KIND OF.

Jackie wanted to kick herself. She had thought for sure that she'd be able to impress Hyde with the stash she had bought from her maid, but all it did was get him into trouble. And, as though that weren't enough, she had to go and say she loved him. Sure, Jackie knew she had not so friendly feelings towards the guy, but she always just assumed those feelings were hate. What did they say about love and hate? Her stupid crush had gotten the best of her, he furious with her; any chance that she might have had with him was now out the window.

Jackie sighed as she cried into her pillow. Why the hell was she so stupid? Was Michael's stupidity contagious? Oh god, what if she had caught something else from him?

She was going to have to apologize. It was the only way to redeem herself in her own eyes.

Okay, and his too, if she wanted to be technical. Since when did his opinion of her matter so much to her?

Jackie wasn't sure if she wanted an answer to that. She did know though that she wouldn't be able to sleep if she didn't do it right then. Quickly, Jackie put on some clothes and touched up her make up and opened her bedroom door.

Sneaking out of her house had always been easy. Her mother was usually passed out in the master bedroom, and her father was rarely in town, and even when he was, he'd be in his office with the door closed and a bottle of scotch. All Jackie had to do was be careful not to let the door slam when she left.

It had been Michael who had found the shortcut from Jackie's house to the Forman's. It meant climbing over a fence and going through a couple of backyards, but it was better than walking to whole half mile it took going the long way. On the way, Jackie tried to think of what she was going to say to him.

"I'm sorry I got you put in jail." No, that wouldn't work.

"Please, please, please forgive me!" No, too pathetic.

"Thank you for going to jail for me!" Jackie could just see Steven roll his eyes. Clearly, that was out.

Even at eight o clock at night, the air was thick with moisture, leaving tiny droplets of water on her skin. It was only a matter of time before it actually began to rain judging by the dark and ominous clouds overhead. It was stupid, she knew, to be going to see him, even if she did make it there in time, she still didn't have anything to say. Maybe this wasn't a situation that called for words; maybe she should get him a present.

But what gift do you give to someone for going to jail for you? A tee-shirt, record, cologne? Or maybe a candle. That was perfect. She'd get him a candle. Nothing said "I'm sorry and thank you and I think I might be in love with you" like a candle.

"You really shouldn't be out here alone."

She stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of Hyde's voice. She turned and smiled at him.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be…"

"In jail?" He finished for her.

"I was going to say home."

"No, actually the cops let me go after I told them I was just sticking up for you… they're probably looking for you right now." Jackie missed the wry grin he gave.

Forget the candle. "What?" Jackie screeched.

Hyde laughed, putting up his hands to keep Jackie from hitting him. "I'm just kidding, Red bailed me out."

"So why are you out here?" She asked you again.

"Why are you?"

She was beginning to think he was being deliberately obstinate.

"I asked you first." She countered.

"I asked nicer."

"Barely." She muttered. "Fine, I was coming to see if you were okay, and to apologize."

He nodded. "What if I wasn't there?"

"Oh, well um, I was going to tell The Forman's what happened so you wouldn't get into trouble."

"That's awfully nice of you." "Are you feeling okay?" Hyde asked. "What happened to oh my god I love you and we'll get married and live happily ever after?" He mimicked Jackie's usual peppiness.

"I talked to Donna." She replied. "And she made me realize that I was selfish and what I did was wrong."

"Again, who are you and what have you done with Jackie?"

She smacked him lightly in the arm. "I'm serious; I know you're really mad at me but…"

He cut her off with a kiss. It was over before she had time to react, but long enough to leave her in a daze.

"You talk too much." Hyde told her.

"You talk too little." She countered.

She had to admit, she really liked this banter they had going on.

He kissed her again, pulling back before she could reciprocate.

"We can't do this." He said, as though trying to convince himself more than her.

"Why not?" She asked with her hands on her hips, "And don't say it's because of Michael because he doesn't matter."

Hyde threw up his hands. "He does matter, don't you get it? He's my best friend and I can't dog him like that!"

Jackie stared at Hyde in disbelief. The words coming out of his mouth were not what he expected from him. She would have bet that he would have found the burn on her ex to be funny.

"You know, all my life, people have been trying to decide my life for me. My parents, my teachers, Michael, you, I'm sick of it, what about what I want?"

He raised his eyebrow at her, "What do you want?"

"I want," Now that someone was finally asking her what she wanted, she found that she really had no idea.

"Guys like me are bad news." Hyde interjected. "You don't want to be with a guy like me."

Jackie frowned. Shouldn't she be the judge of that? "You suck you know that?" Seeing his shocked expression, she continued. "You do. You act all cool and nonchalant and zen but really you're just a scared little boy who's afraid of being happy, and you might like to sabotage your own happiness, but you're not going to sabotage mine, understand?"

"Uh, no." Hyde admitted.

Jackie huffed. "Fine, let me put it into small words. What would make me happy is being with you, and no one, not even your stupid self is going to stop me, got it?"

There was a long pause between them as Hyde stared at her in complete disbelief. She really couldn't blame him as she was surprised by herself.

"I gotta get back." Hyde stated finally. "See you later."

It was her turn to be stunned by him. Here she was, having confessed her feelings for him, and what did he do? He left, without so much as a goodbye kiss!

"Coward!" She yelled at his retreating frame. "I know where you live!"

She thought that she might have seen him chuckle, but she couldn't be sure. Instead, she stood in the middle of the street, amazed at both her own bravery and the lack of his. It wasn't like she wanted to be in love with him. He was dirty and poor and an orphan and did she mention dirty? Her parents wouldn't approve of him, he couldn't buy her presents, he was lazy, and the list went on and on.

It was when she saw him turn the corner that she realized she hadn't actually apologized.

* * *

Day one of convincing Steven that she was in fact, ready for a relationship involved sitting as close to him as she could on the couch in the basement, promising her faithfulness and devotion, and generally staring at him until he looked at her. She could tell that he was trying hard not to do the latter, because she had dressed up extra pretty ( but not too pretty, mind you.) for him and he might have folded and admitted she was right.

At one point, she offered to be his life line and to grab her.

He told her to grab herself.

What she really didn't get was how he could say one thing in front of her and then another in front of their friends. That's when it hit her.

"You're ashamed of me." She had snuck back into the house after everyone else (read: Donna, who was completely unsupportive and a big read whore at that.) had gone home.

"You know, just because Mrs. Forman let Red have it doesn't mean he's still not going to kick both our asses when he finds you down here."

"I don't care." Jackie replied. "He won't kick my ass anyway, he loves me."

"Jackie, you think everyone loves you."

"Because it's true!" Jackie said exasperatedly. "You love me, whether you want to admit it or not, which you don't because you don't want anyone to know how you feel, it's not about Michael at all!"

Hyde shrugged his shoulder a bit. "What if I am?"

"Well, you do what I did when I found out that I had feelings for you."

Hyde laughed as he asked, "What would that be?"

"I got over it." Jackie replied as though it was the easiest thing in the world to accept, even if it wasn't. "I mean, do you know what the squad is going to do to me once they figure out I like you? You!?"

"Award you a prize since I'm so sexy?" Hyde asked.

"No, they'll desecrate me, but I figure it's worth it cause um, I love you."

"Don't say that." Hyde ordered. "Definitely do not say that."

"Why not?" Jackie pressed. "Does it force you to open up your heart and feel something that just might be akin to love for me?"

"No." Hyde answered with a roll of his eyes before grabbing her and kissing the lights out of her before pulling his mouth away from hers, but still holding on to her shirt. "It makes me want to do that."

"Oh." Jackie was still a little speechless from the kiss. "So do that."

"We've talked about this."

"Yes, and we established that nothing is going to get in my way of being with you, not even your dumb self."

Hyde let go of Jackie's shirt long enough to turn her around and lead her to the basement door, where he leaned over her to turn the door knob and open it. "It's not going to happen, Jackie."

"Oh, but it is, just you wait and see!" When Jackie Burkhart put her mind to something, she never backed down until she got precisely what she wanted.

"I like to see you try." Hyde smiled before giving her a quick peck on the forehead. "Now go."

He pushed her out of the basement and then shut and locked the door behind her. Knowing she had no choice but to leave, she marched up the stairs. Besides, she had plenty of time to get her Steven. After all, he was practically hers anyway.

* * *

Please review.

Next chapter will be Jackie Bags Hyde, but it'll be awhile before it's ready.


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